Blogs

A Letter from the 2025 AIA CRAN® Chair Marica McKeel, AIA

By Alison Karfeld posted 2 days ago
As I step into the role of Chair for Custom Residentials Architects Network (CRAN ® ) in 2025, I find myself reflecting on my first experience with this incredible community and how it has influenced my journey as an architect. I vividly remember attending my first CRAN Symposium—a moment that left me feeling not only empowered and included but also like I had a group of mentors who were there for me whenever I needed guidance. At the time, I was a sole practitioner and working as a residential architect amidst a sea of large commercial firms in New York City. That sense of belonging meant the world to me. One of CRAN’s greatest strengths is its sense of ...

AIAU Course : January 28--Designing net-zero energy educational buildings: Case studies in excellence

By Alison Karfeld posted 2 days ago
Designing net-zero energy educational buildings: Case studies in excellence January 28 | 2–3pm ET | Earns 1 LU / HSW Explore the principles, challenges, and successes of designing net-zero energy educational buildings by exploring two award-winning case studies: The Frank and Maureen Wilkens Science and Engineering Center in Cape Cod, and Bard High School Early College . Gain insights into the strategies and innovations that allowed these projects to achieve net-zero energy goals while fulfilling educational needs. Sponsored by the Committee on Architecture for Education (CAE) . Learn more & register > https://aiau.aia.org/course/det ...

Current SFx State Representatives

By Kathleen McCormick posted 3 days ago
State Representative Email Alabama Barrett Penney, AIA barrett@fosheecompanies.com Alaska Tim Whiteley, AIA tim@welshwhiteley.com Arizona Devan Porter, AIA devan.porter@dsp.design Arkansas Tim Maddox, AIA mad@demxarch.com California VACANT Colorado Emily Adams, AIA emily.adams@neoerainc.com Connecticut Karin Patriquin, AIA karin@patriquinarchitects.com Delaware Willard F. Hurd, AIA whurd@footprintarch.com Florida Alex Silva, AIA Asilva@silvaarc.com Georgia Jordache K Avery, AIA jordache@xmetrical.com Hawaii Chris Hong, AIA chris@whisperarchitects.com ...

Current SFx Board

By Kathleen McCormick posted 3 days ago
2025 SFx Board Table Legend: Bold = Chair / Bold = Executive Committee Board member Email Alyse Makarewicz, AIA Alysem@ambarchitects.com Bart Shaw, FAIA bart@ibanezshaw.com Christopher Hong, AIA chris@whisperarchitects.com Dana Ellis, AIA dana@outpoststudioco.com Darguin Fortuna, AIA dfortuna@flow-design-studio.com Jen Wright, AIA jwright@rallymade.com Jeremiah Russell, AIA jeremiah@roguearch.com Joshua Zinder, AIA jzinder@joshuazinder.com Julie Carpenter julie@aiacincinnati.org Lewis Matthew Miller, AIA lewismmiller@outlook.com Nathan Kipnis, ...

2024 Wrap-Up Message from Susan Chin, FAIA

By Alison Karfeld posted 3 days ago
We had an epic year of design exploration--learning from a broad range of architects, designers and civic leaders across the nation and the globe--in Northwest Arkansas, Washington D.C, and Brazil! What a tremendous honor and privilege for me to share with AIA COD the many talented friends and colleagues who generously revealed their approach to creating great architecture, landscape and institutions that foster social engagement, entrepreneurship, and empathy. My heartfelt thanks to all of them, and COD Advisory Group and especially AIA staff Susan Parrish, Kanisha Williams, Robin Preston, and Angel Ward for their support and organization. I wish COD 2025 Chair ...

2025 COD Chair Craig Brandt, FAIA

By Alison Karfeld posted 5 days ago
Dear Committee on Design Community, It is my great pleasure to serve as the chair of the American Institute of Architects Committee on Design for 2025. Our work weaves the threads of design through various activities to support the Institute’s ambitions for excellence in architecture, urbanism, and landscape. In addition to the ongoing work supporting and promoting several of the Institutes award programs, we have a full programmatic spectrum from virtual learning on AIAU, to programs and tours for AIA 25’ to be held in Boston, and finally, our own domestic conference planned May 1-3 in Miami and Coconut Grove Florida. One might see 2025 as a pivotal time ...

IAKC January Letter from the co-chairs, Yutaka Takiura, AIA & Candice Rabovsky, AIA

By Alison Karfeld posted 6 days ago
Dear Fellow AIA Members, Welcome to the world of the Interior Architecture Knowledge Community (IAKC)! Many of us naturally gravitate towards interiors because architecture is fundamentally about creating spaces for people. Interior architecture plays a vital role in our industry, shaping our most immediate day-to-day environment. The AIA IAKC team aims to connect with more of you this year. Our goals in 2025 include growing the IAKC footprint, expanding our educational and networking opportunities, and making our community resources more accessible to our members. We also will be focusing on both horizontal and vertical connections: building relationships ...

COTE News

By Lisa M. Ferretto AIA posted 11 days ago
COTE News Archives 2025 Jan/Feb 2024 Jan/Feb Mar/Apr May/Jun Jul/Aug Sep/Oct Nov/Dec 2023 Jan/Feb Mar/Apr May/Jun Jul/Aug Sep/Oct Nov/Dec

EDspaces 2024 event recap and look ahead to 2025!

By Alison Karfeld posted 12-19-2024
Where do passionate experts discover the most cutting-edge ideas and trends in educational facility design? Look no further than EDspaces: Designing the Future of Education , the premiere destination for architects, designers, facility planners, distributors and manufacturers from throughout the U.S. to convene under one roof. This year’s attendees met in Houston, November 12-14. For over 10 years, the AIA Committee on Architecture for Education has proudly partnered with EDspaces. We are thrilled to share feedback on the conference, our space, and hopes for next year! “The value in coming to the event,” says Rebecca Baibak, AIA, CAE 2025 Chair, “is to ...

AIA Practice Management Digest - December 2024

By Rebecca W. Edmunds AIA posted 12-13-2024
Research in Practice One year after our 2023 Industry Changing Tech issue, we take an updated look at the ways technology is altering practice, including AI (Artificial Intelligence), robotics, and virtual systems. Letter from the editor By Rebecca W.E. Edmunds , AIA, NOMA A year ago, AI’s potential impact on the profession remained, for many, ambiguous. Robotic construction seemed experimentation. Virtual work, more a hangover from the Covid pandemic than an established way of working. But technology moves forward even when we may be mired in the day-to-day requirements of running a practice and delivering projects. Numerous ...

Technology as a competitive edge for AEC firms

By Rebecca W. Edmunds AIA posted 12-13-2024
By Rich Friedman , Friedman Partners A developing trend is the rising number of A/E/C firms with technology-based subsidiaries or divisions. This extends beyond the common tools used by architects and engineers, such as 3D modeling, CADD and BIM, to owning technology processes and products used in project delivery, traditionally a reimbursable item or subconsultant service. This article outlines some of the benefits and challenges of this growing practice, with examples from the experiences of two industry-leading firms that have made this leap. Opportunity Knocked Environmental Science Associates (ESA) is a 700-employee environmental ...

To AI or not to AI?

By Rebecca W. Edmunds AIA posted 12-13-2024
By Karen Robichaud A question I‘ve been hearing a lot is: should I use AI in marketing? And the answer is, it depends. I ask, what challenge you’re trying to solve? AI tools are vast, and many have been part of our daily lives for so long we’ve forgotten that they are AI, like spellcheck. Others are emergent, like generative AI tools such as ChatGPT. When you’re considering using AI for marketing, I ask back, which tools are you considering and why? Again, what problem are you solving? Let’s break it down. Think about what kind of help you need. Here’s one example: Getting Organized Let’s say you need help getting organized ...

RUDC "Cities are relationships: Regionalism Polycentricity" Symposium Recap

By Alison Karfeld posted 12-12-2024
On November 14 and 15, RUDC hosted a symposium titled “Cities are relationships: Regionalism & Polycentricity.” Guests were welcomed to Indianapolis from all corners of the United States and across the globe. Day 1 was spent at the historic Athenaeum interacting with 21 speakers across 5 panels and 2 keystones. The topics were wide ranging yet interconnected, demonstrating that not only are communities related, but the issues the face and the solutions they utilize are related too. The day started with a discussion about how Indianapolis is planning for culture and equity by bridging gaps between groups as the city fosters thriving communities. It ...

Letter from the Chair - Scott Archer, December Newsletter

By Alison Karfeld posted 12-12-2024
Recently returned from Indianapolis after gathering with so many urban designers, architects, planners, landscape architects, city officials, university administrators, academics, and urbanists of all stripes, I’m reminded of how incredible and important the Regional & Urban Design Knowledge Community (RUDC) is. Urban Design as a discipline is often considered adrift between all of these disciplinary islands. While it may lack a permanent home, its flexibility and transdisciplinarity may be its primary strength. These gatherings are invigorating, educational, and growing, and we hope that other urbanists will find value and join us in the year to come! As ...

New Year, New Faces: Meet Your Incoming COTE Leadership

By Katie Nordenson posted 12-09-2024
The Committee on the Environment (COTE) is thrilled to introduce three new members of the Leadership Group , each of whom offers their unique expertise, passion, and perspective in support of design excellence. Let’s meet them and hear a bit about their reasons for joining COTE, a project they’re particularly proud of, and a design resource they love. ( Pictured from left to right above: Katie Ackerly, Lindsey Falasca, and Alyssa Manypenny Murphy.) Katie Ackerly, AIA, LEED AP, CPHC, is a Principal at David Baker Architects , a top urban housing design firm based in San Francisco. Katie is DBA’s Sustainable Design Director, an industry thought leader, ...

COTE Network News - 2024 Wrap Up

By Sean Costello Assoc. AIA posted 12-09-2024
The COTE Network hosted its last call of the year on November 12 , where COTE group leaders shared progress and highlights from their communities within the last year. We will continue the conversion into 2025, where we’ll hear from the remaining COTE groups on the Q1 call. We hope you can join us to share the work of your committee and to hear what others have been up to this year. The event will be followed by office hours from 3:00 pm ET to 3:30 pm ET. We also want to announce that the Network is transitioning from Basecamp to a COTE Network Community Hub hosted on the AIA’s website as part of the AIA’s comprehensive communication strategy ...

AIA Corporate Partners COTE Newsletter Article: Sherwin-Williams January 2025

By Alison Karfeld posted 12-08-2024
Sherwin-Williams recently launched our product portal to Ecomedes, a database of building product data. As an industry leader, we’re excited to make sustainability easier to deliver into the market every single day. With Ecomedes, you can simplify the evaluation and selection of sustainable materials via a one-stop shop. The platform pulls in all the certifications, documentation, and details of our products’ sustainability attributes, making it the perfect home for data on our extensive collection of architectural and industrial coatings. Plus, Ecomedes synthesizes product data into a simple lens that people can understand and use to identify the ...

U.S. Climate Heritage Policy Conference

By Alison Karfeld posted 12-06-2024
On October 4, 2024, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) held an in-person and virtual one-day conference, U.S. Climate Heritage in the International Context. Co-convened by ACHP Chair Sara C. Bronin and Georgetown Law Professor J. Peter Byrne, the event was co-sponsored by the American Institute of Architects, the Georgetown University Law Center, Georgetown Climate Center, Cornell Law School, and Cornell Center for Social Sciences, and featured leaders who addressed domestic and international climate heritage. In light of the first multi-agency (ACHP) U.S. federal policy statements on Climate Change and Historic Preservation and ...

National Park Service News: New NPS Sustainability, Energy Efficiency, Resilience & Historic Buildings Webpage

By Alison Karfeld posted 12-06-2024
Historic properties can be made more sustainable, energy-efficient, and resilient, improving their performance and use while also preserving their historic character. Doing so not only improves their efficiency and livability but helps to ensure their long-term preservation. The NPS has been providing guidance and technical preservation information on these issues for decades. Visit their new Sustainability, Energy Efficiency, Resilience & Historic Buildings Webpage for links to current NPS guidance and information and for easy access to further explore these topics. https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1739/sustainability-energy-efficiency-resilience ...

National Park Service News: Technical Preservation Services 2025 Work Plan Available

By Alison Karfeld posted 12-06-2024
Beginning in the upcoming fiscal year, (FY 2025: October 2024 through September 2025), NPS Technical Preservation Services will publish its annual guidance, training, and outreach work plan and offer the opportunity for the public to submit comments and suggestions for current and future plans. The FY 2025 work has been published on the NPS website Technical Preservation Services Annual Work Plan - Technical Preservation Services (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov) The plan includes both in-progress/continuing—as well as new—guidance, training, and other technical preservation information that TPS intends to undertake in 2025. Comments and suggestions ...